About Me

I was born and raised in Prince Rupert, BC. I graduated from Prince Rupert Senior Secondary and lived on Prince Rupert Boulevard. I don’t make this stuff up. It makes me feel like Prince Rupert was a small town… and it is. I completed a BSc, majoring in chemistry with a concentration in math, and BEd in Secondary Education from the University of British Columbia. In 1994, I moved from Vancouver to Sechelt where I taught secondary mathematics, chemistry, and science for 16 years. During my teaching career, I assumed teacher leader roles such as the professional development representative, mathematics department head, and staff representative. I completed my Masters Degree from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Curriculum and Instruction in 2001 where my comprehensive exam focused on building math learning communities and Assessment for Learning in Secondary Mathematics. In 2010, I left teaching in public schools to pursue doctoral research and self-employment as an independent educational consultant.

During this time as a doctoral student and consultant, I remained connected to BC public education as a school trustee, elected in 2011 and acclaimed in 2014 from the District of Sechelt. I chaired of the Education Committee for 5-years and Policy Committee for 2-years. Moreover, as school trustee I was elected as a Director on the British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) Board of Directors and served 3-years. As Director, I liaised with the BCSTA Education Committee, Legislative Committee, Metro Branch, and Vancouver Island Branch. As a math educator, I was a keynote speaker at the 2013 Aboriginal Math K-12 Symposium at UBC and invited to be a member of the Math K-9 Curriculum Development Team as part of BC’s New Curriculum. From this experience, I facilitated workshops to teachers and educational leaders to introduce BC’s New Curriculum and represented the BCSTA on the Committee on Provincial Curriculum.

In 2017, I completed my Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at SFU. My research focused on the professional learning experiences of out-of-field secondary mathematics teachers and subject-matter acquisition. Currently, I teach fourth year education courses at SFU and graduate level education courses at St. Mark’s College where I embed the principles of BC’s New Curriculum into my classes. In 2018, I was recognized as Volunteer of the Year after serving 6-years on the Sunshine Coast Community Futures Board of Directors, where I served as chair of the Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee and member of the Executive Committee. I contribute and engage the education community as one of the #bcedchat co-moderators on Twitter and secondary representative on the BC Association of Mathematics Teachers Executive Committee. I love teaching, learning, and leading. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at UNBC. My research and teaching interests include professional learning, subject matter acquisition, mentorship, policy and practice, and transformative leadership.